House Of Cards
by Earth
Summary: established SYY, eventual JounouchiMokuba. Love can be found in the stangest of places, things are never as clear cut as they seem and life is like a house of cards, built with the hope that the whole thing won't come crashing down.


No Own. No Sue.

House Of Cards

Prologue

When Yami found him standing outside the gates in the rain, he really hadn't had any intention of coming inside, much less staying. He really hadn't had any intentions of doing anything. The only thing running through his head at the moment was that he had to get out of the house, that he had to get away from his father, from his father's habits, that he just had to get _away_.

He hadn't been paying attention to where he was going, so it was just a coincidence that he ended up in front of the Kaiba mansion. That or fate. And he certainly never even thought of coming inside the rather formidable house, in fact when Yami mentioned it, he protested vehemently, saying that he'd find another place to stay. At which point Yami raised a brow and told him flatly that Yugi was in Tokyo with his grandfather. He swore, and then sneezed. And let Yami lead him into the admittedly welcome warmth of the house.

Inside he sat at the table, as Mokuba cheerily made cups of hot chocolate for them, and explained the situation with his father, at which point both the former pharaoh and the younger Kaiba agreed that Jounouchi should stay with them, at least for a few days. He smiled and shook his head, knowing full well that hell would freeze over before Kaiba ever let him stay in his house. At which Yami smirked and said that he could probably persuade him. So when the CEO finally did return and found the new addition to the household sitting in the kitchen, Mokuba's hand was suddenly in his, leading him out of the room, while the pharaoh slowly approached the gaping business man.

Half an hour later he was shown to one of the many guestrooms.

And that was how Jounouchi Katsuya came to stay in the Kaiba household.

Mornings

Like most teenagers, Jounouchi had never been a morning person. In fact, he detested the morning sun with a vengeance, and had often spent most mornings colourfully cursing it and the world in general whenever it forced him out of bed. So when it peeked into his window that morning, it was no surprise when he groaned and tossed and arm over his eyes, rolling over onto his side in an attempt to turn his back on the window and aforementioned cursed giant burning ball of gas. It would have worked, and he probably would have been able to catch a least a few more minutes of sleep, had his bed not been situated directly beneath the window.

Jounouchi's eyes snapped open, awareness coming to him in a sudden sickening jolt. He was not in his old, worn but still comfortable bed at home in his perpetually messy room. No, he was in a ridiculously luxurious one situated in a room that looked like it belonged in a five star hotel.

The blond flipped back onto his back., the previous nights events coming back to him. Mentally he cursed himself for getting himself into this situation. It would have been easier to have said no. Even spending the night out on the streets seemed more preferable than having to face Seto Kaiba first thing in the morning. Because one look at Yami's face had told him that he wasn't going to be spending the night out in the rain, and that he wasn't going home for a while, not until his father had sobered up a little.

And, try as he might, Jounouchi had never really been able to resist Mokuba Kaiba.

Ever since he had met the younger Kaiba, and especially after Noa's world, Jounouchi had always sort of considered it his sort of personal mission that Mokuba got to experience all the things a normal kid would. Because, when you are the sixteen year old president of a major company and constantly having to deal with competitors and take over attempts, you really didn't have the time to make sure your little brother got to do things, try as you might.

So Jounouchi and the rest of the group had taking Mokuba under their wing, and showed him what it was like to be a normal child, and more recently, what it was like to be a normal teenager. Whether or not Kaiba resented or appreciated the action Jounouchi never knew, but it didn't really matter, because as much as he might hate the elder Kaiba, he couldn't help but liking the younger.

So when Mokuba had looked at him with shining eyes when Yami suggested having him stay for a while, the blonde had felt his initial reserve start to crumble, and when the black haired boy had slipped his hand into Jounouchi's to pull him out of the room it all but slipped away. When Yami offered a triumphant smirk and told Mokuba to find Jounouchi a guest room, and the thirteen year old had cheered, it disappeared completely.

**

* * *

**

"Is Nisama mad?"

Mokuba had never considered himself a shy person, or anything less than self confident, except when it came to his brother. All the confidence and self assurance in the world would disappear if he thought that he had made his brother unhappy, or worse, angry. Then he was left timid and scared, unsure of what to do next.

Yami looked up from his book at the sound of the boy's voice.

"I do not believe him to be happy with the current situation, but I do not think that he is all that angry either."

Mokuba let out a sigh and entered the room fully, coming to sit on the ground next to Yami's knee.

"That's good." He drew his knees up to his chest. "I wouldn't want him mad at me,

because I really want Jounouchi-kun to stay."

A slender hand came to rest on top of Mokuba's head. "I fear you must be lonely here sometimes."

"It's not that! Ni-sama works really hard for us, and I know he enjoys it. And you're happy working for the museum, but…"

"But the house can get a little too empty-"

"Sort of."

The hand stroked his hair, briefly. "And Jounouchi's presence will help to lift that. It will do you some good, I think, to have him here." The former pharaoh smiled serenely, as though privy to some secret knowledge. It was a look that Mokuba had seen often, and learned not to question. "It will do Jounouchi some good too, I believe, and your brother as well."

Mokuba leaned his head back.

"If they don't kill each other first."


End file.
